在学校进行即时背景调查的想法 并不新鲜。多年来，全国各地的学区一直在寻找一种可靠的方法来筛查访问学校建筑的家长和其他个人。过去十年发生的学校枪击事件让学校更有理由对每一个踏入校园的人进行审查。在任何“局外人”都可能构成威胁的环境中——任何威胁都可能导致灾难性的生命损失——学区根本不会冒险。
即时背景调查是学校的理想工具，因为它不需要任何重要的预先计划或信息收集。有时可以立即对员工或志愿者进行背景调查 ——但并非总是如此——但访客背景调查不同。当有人来到校舍参观时，无论是家长、当地新闻媒体的记者，还是准备在体育馆集会上发言的客人——学校没有数周、数天甚至数小时的时间来运行对那个人进行背景调查。工作人员需要一个系统来当场审查每位访客，同时该人在主办公室签到并获取访客的胸卡。
学校中的大多数即时背景调查系统都以相同的方式工作。访客到达学校大楼的正门并通过蜂鸣对讲机进入学校。从那里，访问者必须前往主办公室进行登录。作为登录过程的一部分，访问者向办公室前台的工作人员提供驾驶执照（或其他政府颁发的身份证明）。具有即时访客背景调查系统的学校有一个设置，使这些员工能够刷访客的 ID，启动即时背景调查。
其中一些系统侧重于性犯罪者登记处，并使性犯罪者远离学校环境。其他包括跨越多个司法管辖区的犯罪历史数据库。在所有情况下，这些背景调查都旨在快速进行。在 30 秒内，前台工作人员将为访客提供背景调查报告（并且能够决定该访客是否应进入大楼）。
越来越多的学校开始投资于这些系统。在 2018-2019 学年之前，位于印第安纳州哥伦布市的 K-12 公立学区 Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation 为其校舍推出了访客背景调查系统。一年后，在 2019-2020 学年之前，佛罗里达州杰克逊维尔的杜瓦尔县公立学校 采用了类似的系统 来保护其 129,000 名学生。2019 年 10 月，阿肯色州罗杰斯的罗杰斯公立学校花费了超过 36,000 美元（并承诺每年支付 13,500 美元的软件费用）来安装复杂的访客背景调查设置。Rogers 系统甚至可以跟踪志愿者的工作时间、不应该联系特定学生的酒吧访客，以及完成其他任务。
is not new. For years, school districts all over the country have been looking for a reliable way to screen parents and other individuals who visit their school buildings. The rash of school shootings over the past decade has given schools more reason to vet every single person who sets foot on the premises. In an environment in which any “outsider” could pose a threat—and any threat could lead to a catastrophic loss of life—school districts simply aren’t taking any chances.
The instant background check is an ideal tool for schools because it doesn’t require any significant pre-planning or collection of information. Running background checks on employees or volunteers can sometimes be instant—but isn’t always—but visitor background checks are different. When someone comes to a school building for a visit, whether a parent, reporter from the local news media, or guest set to speak at an assembly in the gym—a school doesn’t have weeks, days, or even hours to run a background check on that person. Staff members need a system in place with which to vet each visitor on the spot while that person is at the main office signing in and getting their visitor’s badge.
Most instant background check systems at schools work the same way. The visitor arrives at the main entrance of the school building and buzzes the intercom to gain access to the school. From there, the visitor must proceed to the main office to sign in. As part of the sign-in process, the visitor provides a driver’s license (or other government-issued identification) to the person working the front desk at the office. Schools with instant visitor background check systems in place have a setup that enables these employees to swipe the visitor’s ID, initiating an instant background check.
Some of these systems focus on sex offender registries and keeping sex offenders out of school environments. Others incorporate criminal history databases that span multiple jurisdictions. In all cases, these background checks are designed to move quickly. Within 30 seconds, the front desk worker will have a background check report for the visitor (and will be able to decide if that visitor should proceed into the building or not).
More schools are starting to invest in these systems. Ahead of the 2018-2019 school year, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation, a K-12 public school district located in Columbus, Indiana, rolled out a visitor background check system for its school buildings. A year later, in the lead-up to the 2019-2020 academic year, Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Florida adopted a similar system to protect its 129,000 students. In October 2019, Rogers Public Schools in Rogers, Arkansas spent more than $36,000—and committed to annual software fees of $13,500—to install a sophisticated visitor background check setup. The Rogers system can even track volunteer hours, bar visitors who aren’t supposed to contact specific students, and complete other tasks.
